Sensex, Nifty Edge Higher Ahead Of Expiry Of March F&O Contracts

The Indian equity markets were trading marginally higher ahead of expiry of March futures and option contracts due later in the day. Gains in HDFC, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC and ICICI Bank were offset with losses in Reliance Industries, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank amid weak global cues. As of 9:23 am, the Sensex was up 88 points at 58,772 and Nifty 50 index rose 24 points to 17,522.

Asian stock markets sank Thursday after Chinese manufacturing weakened and Russian shelling around Ukraine’s capital shook hopes of progress in peace talks.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo declined while Seoul gained. Oil fell nearly $7 per barrel in New York but stayed above $100.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.6 per cent on Wednesday after U.S. economic growth was weaker than expected.

Russian forces shelled areas near Kyiv and another city Wednesday after Moscow said it would scale back operations there to promote trust. Negotiators were meeting in Turkey to try to end the five-week-old war.

Back home, thirteen of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty FMCG index's 0.7 per cent gain. Nifty Media, Metal, Consumer Durables and Auto indices also rose between 0.3-0.6 per cent.

On the other hand, select PSU bank and real estate shares were facing selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares were outperforming their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.3 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced nearly 1 per cent.

Mahindra & Mahindra was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 2 per cent to Rs 810. Bajaj Finance, Tata Consumer Products, HDFC, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, ONGC, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Bharat Petroleum and ITC also rose between 0.8-1.9 per cent.

On the flipside, Hindalco, Power Grid, Cipla, Wipro, Apollo Hospital, Reliance Industries, Divi's Labs, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro and UPL were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,918 shares were advancing while 885 were declining on the BSE.